Abstract:
Background: Street children constitute a marginalized population in most urban centers of the
world. According to UN sources there are up to 150 million street children in the world today.
World Health Organization estimates that globally, 25- 90% of street children indulge in
substance use. Research on street children and their substance use habits in Ethiopia, specifically
in Jimma has been limited.
Objectives: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with substance use among street
children in Jimma town, Ethiopia
Methods: Cross sectional study was undertaken from March 1-31, 2019. Since children of the
street with age of 12-18 were small in number, complete enumeration was done and we had got
312 children of the street. Bivariate logistic regression was carried out to select candidate for
multivariable logistic regression analysis with p-value <0.25 at 95% confidence. Multi variable
logistic regression were carried out with those candidate variables using backward method and
association was declared with p value of <0.05 at 95% confidence level.
Result: Three hundred twelve street children with response rate of 96.2% were included in the
study. The life time prevalence of substance use was 122(39.1%) with 95% CI [33.0-45.2]. The
current prevalence of substance use was 96(30.8%) with 95% CI [25-36.2]. Age>14 [AOR: 1.97
95%CI:1.00-3.889], attending grade 1-4 [AOR: 0.33 95%CI:0.151-0.737], attending grade 5 and
above [AOR: 0.27 CI:0.093-0.756], child whose mother use substance [AOR: 7.78 95%CI:3.00-
20.11], child didn’t know his maternal substance use status [AOR:5.1 95%CI: 2.19-11.81], child
whose sibling use substance [AOR: 2.23 95%CI:1.254-5.63], best friend substance use[AOR:
11.01 95%CI:5.47-25.04] and staying 12-60 months on the street [AOR:3.00 95%CI:1.511-5.96]
and staying >5 years on the street [AOR:4.6 95%CI:1.06-19.7] were significantly associated with
substance use.
Conclusion and recommendation: The prevalence of substance use among street children in
Jimma town was high. Mother and siblings have crucial role in determining substance use
behavior of the children. Both governmental and non-governmental organizations working on
children of the street should do intervention on Parents and friends since they are role models for
the street children. Researchers should do more researches on these neglected groups of children
